Sure the photo above is simple enough, but in today's world there are many much more advanced methods available for someone to listing and/or even watch what you're doing in the privacy of your home, office and even car. Think about it;

How hard would it be for someone to listen to your conversations?

Does it always seem like someone knows what you're doing?

Does your company's competitor always seem to have your new ideas just before you release?

Do you have a feeling that someone's watching or listening to you while you're in your office, house or car?

Are you ABSOLUTELY SURE that your office's conference room or private office is SECURE from hidden devices, BEFORE your big meeting?

If any of these sound familiar to you, there is a possibility that someone may have installed devices in your home, office, conference room and possibly even your vehicle. Sure there are a ton of "spy" gadgets you can purchase that claim to be able to locate covert listening devices and maybe even hidden cameras, but do you want to gamble your privacy and security on cheaply-made, unknown equipment sold on an online auction? Besides, will you even know what well-made equipment is telling you? Have you handled these covert devices? Do you know what they look like or even how they work?

That's OK; we do know and we have the experience and professional equipment to offer help with this situation.

Some of the more common covert listening devices emit various radio frequencies from VHF, UHF and even 2.4 & 5.8 GHz. We utilize time-tested proven methods & equipment that can detect transmissions from 50 kHz through 12 GHz. This includes basic eavesdropping and video equipment to more advanced frequency-hopping devices. We can test your walls for acoustic leakage, and even detect IR (Infrared) transmissions and find tape recorders. Think someone may be tapping your phone line? We can test for that too. Our equipment and TSCM (Tactical Surveillance Counter Measures) sweep is developed specifically for this purpose.

Some of the situations where covert listening or video devices may include:

Civil Litigation

Corporate Espionage

Business Rivals

Jealous partners (either social or business)

Child Custody

Divorce

Bothersome Neighbors

and more!

We have the expertise and equipment to help locate hidden devices. Additionally, under Florida State Statue 934, placement of these devices may constitute a felony. Investigative Tactics has the skill and ability to locate these devices, and if needed, maintain a chain of custody for the evidence up to and through court.

I Think I Have a Bug!!! Don't Spend $$ Searching for a Microphone Just Yet!

As with many things Licensed Private Investigators deal with, bug sweeps (also known as Technical Surveillance Counter Measures/TSCM) are a case of either having very long experience through government training & service, a lot of on the job training after continuing research, or a combination of both. The Licensed Investigator has to know what they are looking for, at and how and where a device can be installed.

Can anyone go to Radio Shack or eBay and buy their own equipment? Sure. However, there are many types of “detectors” out there; some have merit when used correctly; others are less than quality equipment. Some of the equipment available costs $100, some $500, others $800. After that level there is a jump to $2,000, then a bigger jump to $19,000 (w/out the required software), then another price jump to over $30,000…. for one piece of equipment! Oh yeah, don’t forget about the training too. All this equipment has its limitations, and one can be sure that the $100 - $800 equipment is very inferior to the $30,000 in what it can do and what its telling the operator.

Besides the equipment, the operator of whatever equipment is being used must know what they are doing, and more importantly, what the equipment is saying to them. So you go out and buy a $500 frequency counter (i.e. a “Bug Detector”)… you turn it on and place it in the middle of the room and it starts to go off immediately! You MUST have a bug!!! Calm down, chances are it’s your kid cooking some bagel pizzas in the microwave, or it’s your WiFi router, or it’s you cordless home phone, or it’s your cell phone… or many other possibilities. The skill set for this portion of the sweep is knowing how to weed those false positives out.

Also, the electronics one can buy should not be the only method; a seasoned Licensed Investigator also has to know when it’s time to put down the equipment and perform a “hard” search. Again, here is a place where there has to be a significant amount of knowledge of what is being looked for and where it’s possible for it to be hidden. We get calls from folks saying “he knows what I’ve said in my car!”. Instead of us coming out, you may be able to save yourself some funds by simply looking under the driver’s seat for a hand-held digital voice recorder. Sure, it’s illegal to put one there, but we’ve seen it happen time and time again.

If you have the feeling that something is not right and that you may be being watched or listened to, take some time to think of “why” this could be happening before taking the next step. Talk to someone that has some knowledge about these sweeps; it could save you a few hundred dollars on equipment you don’t need (or is junk) or and even help with a decision that you may not really need a sweep at all.